Day 22

Day 18

Day 17

Day 15...take two

Day 12

Jess has been moving fast. Today she threw 8 more pieces and spent a while putting handles on things. She's already used 5o lbs. of clay and she's going to start on a third 25 lb. bag now.
Things are getting pretty exciting around here!

Day 10

As I mentioned yesterday, Jessie has hit her quota of bowls; 25 to be exact. Apparently (and this is all new to me since I have never worked in clay) there are still a LOT of steps involved before we can put them to such noble uses as holding cheese-puffs and feeding the dog (just kidding Jess!).
Now that they have all been thrown (made on the wheel):
1. They need to air dry until they are greenware (not really green in color [again, news to me]) at which point they are highly breakable.
2. Once they are dry, we need to carefully load them into out minivan and drive them to the ceramic studio.
3. Once at the studio they will have a "bisque firing". Despite what it sounds like this not a lay-off at the Milk-Bone plant. The bisque firing is the first time the pots will go into a kiln to really dry them out and harden them.
4. Once they are bisque'd they need to cool (for one or two days).
5. Once cooled Jess will paint the glazes on.
6. After the glazes dry the bowls will be fired again and once cooled they will be completed.
Since she has to wait for the drying process, Jessie is using the time now to start throwing some mugs. Her goal is to make 25 of them by the middle of next week. But with the holiday weekend and a mid-wife appointment in Philly on the 6th, it will be difficult at best.
Keep praying that the Lord will give her speed and bless her work!

Day 9

This was going to be a blog entry about Jessie's 25th bowl she threw and what the next steps were going to be now that they are beginning to dry. Instead we're bringing you three very poor quality cell-phone-videos about what happened when I went out to photograph the last few pieces.

We made it out eventually. I grabbed the dog and ran. Thankfully all of the ceramics were covered in time!

Day 8

More!


More!


More!


More?
(Left: Rosemary's vase; Right: Carmellina's candle holder)

Day 7

So uh...I didn't exactly make it outside with my camera today...but take it from me, Jess is still making pots.
I'm sorry I don't have an image of them to show you, but here's something else you can look at if you're really looking for something to see.

Day 6

More pots! Jess is on a roll (or a wheel, at least). We also had an outing today to the playground, followed by a dance performance from the girls on the first 1/8 of the deck and a trip to the local ice cream parlor.
Here's some more slides to enjoy.

Day 5

A few setbacks today. We got hit with a major rain storm. I've never seen a rainstorm so intense that wasn't a part of a hurricane.
The area lost power, had a few mudslides and multiple lightning strikes.
Jess has enjoyed working outside all season, but today's rain not only stopped her from working, but it destroyed a few of the pieces she had finished!
Work on the deck had to stop as well. No one wants to use an electric circular saw in a lightning storm.
Needless to say everyone was a little disappointed in the weather. But we played some Yahtzee and watched some TV and everyone (except Rosie) napped. So maybe tomorrow (weather permitting) we can all make up for lost time.

Day 4

Jessie is moving along well with her work. She hopes to do some test-glazes soon.



Sorry about the poor quality...I guess I shouldn't have used my cell phone!

Day 3

Not too much to report today. Jess kept working at her wheel.

Joey nearly choked to death on a piece of breaded scallop. (Not an exaggeration...seriously scary minute or two there...anyone know baby CPR?)

And apparently building a deck is a LOT more work than I was aware of (not that I have any concept of what goes into building a deck) we work for several hours and there's not much standing there yet!

Day 2

Jess had the chance today to get to her wheel. It took her a little while to back into the swing of things but it came back to her eventually. By the time she finished wedging and wetting the clay she really only had an hour or two before dinner to work.

She did, however, make a two vessels before she was done, and she is ready to jump back in tomorrow.

We also had a fun treat this morning. Joey and the girls went to their first day of swimming lessons at the Tunkhannock High School. Check out the slide show for lost of pics!

Day 1

We arrived in Nicholson, PA this afternoon after a fairly uneventful 3 ½ hour car ride. Those of you with children know that “uneventful” is really the best that could be hoped for on a ride that long.

After a quick lunch, Jessie, Nick and I started work to get the clay studio up and running. A cursory survey of the shed quickly told Jess and I that it had been used WAY more than we thought and we weren’t too sure that the smell of grass clippings and gasoline would be conducive to Jessie’s creativity…never mind her pregnancy.

This however turned out to be a happy providence. We instead erected a clay “tabernacle” next to the shed using a lot of the camping equipment that my in-laws have. Jess was thrilled at the idea of working out doors with a view of the woods out back and the fresh air.


The process took several hours. During that time the kids entertained themselves.









In the end we got a product that I think Jess is very happy with. So tomorrow (Tuesday) Jess will begin her throwing. She hasn’t used her potter’s wheel in over two years. Thankfully it wasn’t rusty at all. Let’s hope we can same the same for Jess!